Why Fashion Photography Is Crucial For All Brands
If you are connected to the world of digital, lifestyle-based advertising, you’ll know first-hand how important the accentuation of fashion and garment imagery is.
The marketing of fashion brands – or those in partnership or collaboration with such brands – is significantly boosted by professional fashion photography. This has always helped brands to stand out, in terms of how authentic the products can appear as well as the greater visual identity of a brand.
Fashion photography has established itself as a distinct sub-genre within the broad spectrum of commercial photography. Similar to product photography or eCommerce photography, a fashion photograph aims to highlight a product’s essential features and give the viewer a clear insight into its benefits, in the hope of increasing sales of that product.
Often, fashion photography will incorporate unique staging, props and endorsements from high-profile models or celebrities. However, fashion photography should not be explicitly viewed as something preserved for the elite, boutique, or well-known brands of the world. In fact, all brands can benefit from fashion imagery in some capacity, and this article will outline why.
The effect of fashion photography on a brand
Firstly, let’s examine how fashion photography might add value to a company before looking at its significance.
- Community presence
Fashion photography can be incorporated into a broad range of different publications and media within the vibrant and profitable fashion industry, and indeed outside of it too. Fashion itself has a presence in entertainment, PR, performing arts, social media, events, eCommerce, marketing, and so many other sectors and niches.
Photography is crucial in helping consumers and prospective partners fall in love with brands, thereby contributing to the fashion industry’s already impressive input into the global economy. As of 2022, the global fashion industry is valued at $1.7 trillion.
- Enhanced brand awareness
A brand’s reputation is never built overnight and can be shattered in seconds. Fashion photography is crucial to helping consumers remember every element and nuance that contributes to your overall visual identity, including your:
- own logo
- colors and unique style
- typography
- strapline
- mission statement
- message and ethics.
Fashion photography can also influence how your products may appear in action, bringing them into a realistic setting in which consumers can visualize themselves. As a result, high-quality photos may work wonders at helping your business appear more authentic and memorable. For instance, adding a picture to contextualize information can increase information retention by 65%, as opposed to only 10% for non-image-based information.
- Increased consumer engagement
High-quality photographs help your consumers associate them with your brand. Through the processes of awareness and recognition, your consumers will begin to engage with your brand on a deeper level.
With the advent of modern social media marketing, imagery is everything. Social media posts draw 650% higher engagement and responses when using imagery than those that rely on static text alone. Furthermore, visual content is 40 times more likely to be shared on social media than any other type of content.
Photography is a crucial element for businesses to showcase themselves in the exceptionally crowded and response-driven digital world.
- It tells the brand’s story
Brands everywhere are constantly vying for their audience’s attention. In a crowded marketplace, impressions count, and it takes an average of five to seven impressions to make a consumer remember your brand, let alone convert.
Over time, fashion photography can prove pivotal in pushing those people further down the sales funnel towards conversions. However, a crucial ingredient to that is brand consistency and storytelling, ultimately fostering feelings of trust and reassurance with a brand.
Fashion has become more accessible and far-reaching thanks to diverse and eye-catching fashion imagery, and as a result, consumers have begun to associate products with brands, and vice versa. Therefore, it’s fair to say that without photography, fashion would not be as truly global as it has become.
The importance of professional fashion photography
Photography can capture the visible and hidden nuances of products which would suit brands of all shapes and sizes. Ultimately, it depends on their goals, whether they are trying to make an astute and obvious point, or are trying to subtly convey meaning through metaphorical representation. The point is, photography is diverse and can be tailored to suit various marketing aims.
In general, however, it’s important to understand just how vital professional fashion images can be to a business.
- Helps expand the community
Targeted fashion content helps enthusiasts in and out of the sector to feel included in trends and developments. Whether this imagery is in the form of live-action fashion shows, static product images, or a range of short-form video content, the visual aspect of fashion is crucial in helping draw more attention to brands. It helps devoted fashion fans to recognize and differentiate different brands from one another, and luckily, with the help of social media, has bridged the gap between brand and consumer closer together.
- Connects fashion to popular culture
Fashion and culture are often vastly intertwined. People can often feel an emotional connection to a brand through fashion photography, and subsequently, brands can expect to draw more customers and clients their way if they execute their imagery strategy correctly.
Before eCommerce and the diverse range of social media platforms emerged, people didn’t always have the opportunities to witness – or be involved in – fashion. Now, iconic brands can find innovative new ways to boost their popularity and make their audience feel closer through sales of original clothing items, collaborations with influencers, targeted media campaigns, and so on. Imagery is always at the heart of it, helping foster strong cultural connections.
- Communicates core brand values
Every brand has a story to tell, often established in line with its core values. To establish long-term emotional connections with their audience, brands need to communicate these values and its story effectively. Photography can be instrumental in helping them achieve these micro- and macro-goals, through a combination of styling, location, vision, and lighting.
Each consumer has unique pain points when you consider the landscape of digital advertising, and many times, what draws consumers to brands is imagery. According to Justuno, 93% of consumers consider visual content to be the key deciding factor in online purchases. If their pain points are addressed, they can form a connection with the advertising brand behind them.
- Enhances trust in brands
Nowadays, consumers need to trust the brands that they buy from. After all, your online reputation rests on customer satisfaction and approval. Adobe’s 2022 Trust Report found that 44% of global consumers will spend at least $500 or more every year with brands they trust the most. What’s more, online shoppers are 50% more likely to be motivated by online reviews than discounts, according to Bizrate Insights.
Therefore, photography is vital for creating an excellent first impression with your prospective buyers as well as nurturing them for long periods.
Photography is often the first impression that consumers have of your brand, and is often the quickest way to communicate a particular message. Hopefully, the above information has helped you understand how professional fashion-based imagery can elevate your brand, even if your business doesn’t exclusively operate in the sector itself. Can you think of other ways that imagery can help your brand?
